Roosevelt coach Christian Hunter begins his second year at the reigns of the Rough Riders, a team that has only three seniors on its 12-man roster in 2017-18, two of whom did not play last season. Roosevelt also lost top scorer and inside presence Jordan Barnes (2016-17 Suburban League First-Team selection) to graduation. Hunter, however, welcomes back sophomore point guard Zac Common, who will look to improve upon a solid rookie season.

"It has been really good to have a full offseason this year after being able to identify and start to build a young core group of guys last year," said Hunter. "Our guys worked really hard this offseason to improve themselves as players and us as a team. So we look forward to trying to continue that momentum into the season and competing."

STYLE OF PLAY

"Any time you lose a guy like Jordan you have to re-evaluate personnel and move forward working to best fit your system to your guys’ strengths," said Hunter. "With the guards we have returning and the new pieces we are working in, we will try to play with more pace and be much more guard driven."

GUARDS

Common, the 6-foot-1 sophomore point guard, started from the opening tip of the first game last season and went on to average eight points and two assists a contest.

"We asked a lot of Zac last year and he always competed through both the successful and tough times," said Hunter. "We look forward to him taking the next step as one of our leaders this year.

"We hope as coaches that we are able to put Zac in situations where he is able to go out and be successful creating shots for others and for himself. After a year of varsity experience last year and an offseason of growing his game and strength, we just want Zac to go be who he is — a team-first kid who always competes and someone who sets the tone for who we are as a team."

Senior Tyler McKown and junior Michael Heintz also return as starters for the Rough Riders.

"Tyler worked hard in the offseason and has grown a lot as a player and a person," said Hunter of the 6-3 McKown. "And we are excited about the play and leadership he will provide for us as a senior this year."

Heintz stands 5-11 and is the hardest worker on the squad, according to the coach.

"He is a kid who you know every day is going to get the most out of his ability and continue to always push himself and his teammates to get better."

Rounding out the backcourt roster and providing depth will be sophomore Cade McDougal and juniors Anthony Sawyer and Carson Lane. All three received varying amounts of varsity minutes through the course of last season.

FORWARDS

With the departures of Barnes and Hayden Kegg, a lot of new faces will occupy time in the Roosevelt frontcourt.

"We have a good group of energy and skill guys who will compete daily to earn minutes at these spots," said Hunter.

Two of the newcomers up front, seniors Jerron Browder and Carl Cronbaugh, are also new members to the team, and unexpected additions at that, according to Hunter. The 6-2 Browder is coming off an outstanding football season, while the 6-4 Cronbaugh becomes the team’s tallest player.

"Carl and Jerron complement each other well and each will be able to offer a different skill sets that we will need," said Hunter.

The remaining four players who will be in the mix for minutes and opportunities to contribute are all young and new to varsity basketball. They include a trio of 6-3 sophomores — Zachary Holman, Tre Moxley and Dejour Duckworth — and 6-2 freshman Raheem Howard.

Source of Optimism: "We feel good that the guards and the leadership we have returning is ready to take the next step forward and push us to compete on a daily basis," said Hunter. "We like the group of guys we have and feel that everyone is a good fit for what we are trying to accomplish as a team."

Cause for Concern: "For any team early on, it is about coming together as a team and understanding what it means to compete with and for one another," said Hunter. "The sooner we are able to do this, the more success our guys will have."

Division Outlook: "Our conference has a lot of returning players that have experienced success before," said Hunter. "It will be a very competitive year where we will have to go out and earn the right to compete every day."

DID YOU KNOW?

— John Leffler, the program’s new junior varsity coach, also played at Kenston High School with Roosevelt coach Christian Hunter before graduating in 2005.

— ERIC CLUTTER

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